Using medical marijuana helps people who suffer from lower pain significantly reduce their opioid use as well as experience lower pain intensity and functional disability, according to a new study that involved hundreds of patients.

Researchers with Tel Aviv University, Rabin Medical Center and Clalit Health Services in Israel enrolled 1,000 patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP) who had previously never used cannabis and tracked their pain, disability status and medication usage annually for a period of 10 years at a specialized orthopedic pain clinic.

After a decade, opioid use, measured in morphine milligram equivalents, “decreased substantially” by 90 percent.

“Opioid reduction was rapid in the first year and remained stable through Year 10,” the researchers wrote.

Pain intensity also dropped by 84 percent, and functional disability was reduced by 30 percent.

The study, published in the European Spine Journal, also looked at how many patients achieved significant pre-specified thresholds for the outcome measures.

For reduced opioid use, 91 percent of patients met the target of at least 50 percent reduction in opioid use.

The goal of 30 percent of greater reduction on a pain intensity scale was achieved by 62 percent of participants. Sixty-two percent of patients reached the targeted decrease in functional disability scores of 10 points or more on a standardized scale.

“Medical cannabis therapy was associated with reductions in opioid use, pain intensity, and functional disability over 10 years, accompanied by polypharmacy reduction and acceptable tolerability.”

There was also a “substantial” reduction in use of other non-opioid medications among patients who completed the study.

“Tramadol/tapentadol use decreased from 89.7% to 5.6% (−84.0% points), benzodiazepines from 78.8% to 5.3% (−73.5 pp), SSRIs from 77.7% to 5.8% (−71.9 pp), and gabapentinoids from 31.3% to 0.6% (−30.7 pp),” the study said. “These reductions were clinically driven rather than protocol-mandated, reflecting individual physician-patient decisions based on symptom response. The pattern of polypharmacy reduction paralleled opioid reduction, occurring primarily in the first 2 years.”

The reduction in use of several different kinds of medications suggests that “medical cannabis may address multiple symptom domains simultaneously,” the researchers wrote.

“Chronic pain patients frequently require polypharmacy to manage pain, sleep disturbance, anxiety, and depression, each of which carries risks of adverse effects and drug interactions,” the said.

Participants in the study used marijuana products that included dried flower for vaporization and cannabis oils for oral/sublingual administration. There was some patient drop off as the study went on, and 638 of the 1,000 who enrolled ended up completing the final follow-up observation.

The researchers cautioned that the single-arm observational nature of the study means that causality cannot be inferred. They also noted that the size of the reductions in the outcome measures in the study “substantially exceeded” those from previously published randomized controlled trials, suggesting that “observational biases contribute to these findings.”

Nonetheless, they said their study is the “longest follow-up of medical cannabis therapy specifically in CLBP patients and demonstrates sustained, clinically meaningful improvements exceeding pre-specified [minimal clinically important difference] thresholds for opioid reduction, pain relief, and functional disability.”

“In this 10-year single-arm observational study, medical cannabis therapy was associated with reductions in opioid use (−89.8%), pain intensity (−84.2%), and functional disability (−30.4%), with high proportions of patients achieving pre-specified MCID thresholds,” the study concluded. “Substantial polypharmacy reductions and acceptable tolerability were observed.”

This is far from the only study supporting the efficacy of marijuana in the treatment of pain—nor is it the first to suggest cannabis can serve as a substitute for conventional therapies such as opioids.

A study published earlier this year found that medical cannabis use by people with chronic lower back pain leads to “large, sustained, and statistically robust improvements.”

In April, a study found that using medical marijuana appears to help people reduce the use of other medications, including opioids, sleeping aids and antidepressants. They also experience far fewer negative side effects after switching to cannabis from prescription drugs, the study involving more than 3,500 patients determined. 

About one in three Americans who use CBD say they take it as an alternative or supplement to at least one medication—particularly painkillers—according to a federally funded study published in February.

Similarly, another recent federally funded study, published by the American Medical Association (AMA), added more evidence that marijuana can serve as an effective substitute for opioids in chronic pain treatment.

Other AMA-published research has found that legalizing marijuana for medical or recreational purposes is “significantly associated with reduced opioid use among patients diagnosed with cancer.”

A separate paper published last year similarly found that medical marijuana legalization is “associated with significant reductions in opioid prescribing.”

In August, meanwhile, Australian researchers published a study showing that marijuana can serve as an effective substitute for opioids in pain management treatment.

Another study published last year in the journal Drug and Alcohol Review found that, among drug users who experience chronic pain, daily cannabis use was linked to a higher likelihood of quitting the use of opioids—especially among men.

Other research also found that legalizing medical cannabis appeared to significantly reduce monetary payments from opioid manufacturers to doctors who specialize in pain, with authors finding “evidence that this decrease is due to medical marijuana becoming available as a substitute” for prescription painkillers.

Further research also showed a decline in fatal opioid overdoses in jurisdictions where marijuana was legalized for adults. That study found a “consistent negative relationship” between legalization and fatal overdoses, with more significant effects in states that legalized cannabis earlier in the opioid crisis. Authors estimated that recreational marijuana legalization “is associated with a decrease of approximately 3.5 deaths per 100,000 individuals.”

“Our findings suggest that broadening recreational marijuana access could help address the opioid epidemic,” that report said. “Previous research largely indicates that marijuana (primarily for medical use) can reduce opioid prescriptions, and we find it may also successfully reduce overdose deaths.”

Another recently published report into prescription opioid use in Utah following the state’s legalization of medical marijuana found that the availability of legal cannabis both reduced opioid use by patients with chronic pain and helped drive down prescription overdose deaths statewide. Overall, results of the study indicated that “cannabis has a substantial role to play in pain management and the reduction of opioid use,” it said.

Source link

Regular cannabis users given legal access to regulated products through pharmacies are moving away from smoking and towards less harmful ways of taking cannabis, according to interim findings from a randomised trial led by researchers at the University of Bern.

The Safer Cannabis Research in Pharmacies Trial (SCRIPT) followed 1,177 regular cannabis users across Bern, Biel and Lucerne for six months. Researchers randomly split the group, with 588 given immediate access to buy regulated products from participating pharmacies while the remaining 589 carried on sourcing cannabis as they normally would, before gaining pharmacy access themselves at the six-month mark

The results show a significant shift in consumption patterns: In the group with pharmacy access, the proportion smoking cannabis dropped from 78% to 58% over six months. Meanwhile, the control group saw virtually no change, remaining at around 82%.

“The majority of study participants consumed cannabis exclusively by smoking at the start of the study,” the report states. “Over the course of six months, people with access to cannabis products in pharmacies switched more frequently to smoke-free forms of consumption or combined different forms of consumption, whilst hardly any changes were observed in the control group.”

Crucially, the study found no evidence that regulated pharmacy sales increase consumption frequency. Cannabis and tobacco use remained largely stable in both groups, suggesting that regulated access does not drive higher consumption rates.

The SCRIPT scheme is designed to test how cannabis consumers respond to stringent regulation. Participating pharmacies charge prices above illegal market rates, including a simulated tax of CHF 3-4 per gramme – representing 30-50% of the final sale price depending on THC content. This makes SCRIPT’s taxation the highest among Swiss cannabis pilot projects.

Products are sold in plain packaging with standardised health warnings, modelled on Canadian regulations. Monthly purchase limits are capped at 10g of THC, with a maximum of 2g per transaction. All products adhered to a 20% THC limit.

Professor Reto Auer, who led the study, explained that the approach positions SCRIPT on “the more regulated side” of cannabis policy. The study deliberately avoided competing with the illegal market through attractive pricing or marketing, instead focusing on harm reduction within strict regulatory boundaries.

Participating pharmacies reported high satisfaction with the new customers, describing them as “patient, friendly, open and well-informed”. Several pharmacy staff said their preconceptions about cannabis users had changed positively through direct contact.

Study participants also responded favourably to the pharmacy model. After six months, 87% found purchasing cannabis in pharmacies pleasant, 71% were satisfied with staff consultations, and 79% felt sufficient privacy was maintained.

Pharmacists provided counselling on study products and safer consumption methods. Some 71% of participants reported sharing harm reduction information with others in their social circles.

Cannabis flowers accounted for roughly 65% of all sales over the two-year period. E-liquids for vaping made up 21% of purchases, whilst cannabis resin represented 11% and tinctures just 3%.

The study also analysed 127 illegal market cannabis samples provided by participants. Results showed that self-reported THC estimates were wildly inaccurate – only one person correctly assessed their sample’s THC content out of 69 tested. Some participants underestimated by up to 24 percentage points, whilst others overestimated by a similar margin.

Nine samples tested positive for synthetic cannabinoids. Most illegal market cannabis was obtained through friends or known dealers (66%), with 14% from known dealers, 11% home-grown and 9% from unknown sources including street dealers and online.

The pilot continues until 2029, with pharmacy sales extended until 31/10/2028. Researchers plan to analyse long-term effects including changes in tobacco consumption, pneumological risk factors and the prevalence of cannabis hyperemesis syndrome.

Professor Auer emphasised that whilst SCRIPT provides robust evidence about individual-level effects of regulated access, broader societal impacts – such as effects on non-users, youth, consumption norms or the illegal market – require additional data sources, including other Swiss pilot projects and international regulatory experiences.

The findings echo those from other Swiss cannabis trials, such as Zurich’s pharmacy-based pilot, Züri Can, where people reported high satisfaction with harm-reduction advice from sales staff after its first year.

Source link

Medical marijuana helps 91 percent of older adults improve their pain, insomnia and mood or behavioral symptoms, a new study has found.

The research involved 124 people over the age of 65 who received medical cannabis from a specialized practice in Colombia and whose symptoms were measured at baseline, 44 of whom had a follow-up visit after three months.

Most of the participants had not previously used marijuana, and the most frequent diagnoses they presented with were pain-related and musculoskeletal disorders, cancer and neurodegenerative and non-degenerative neurological disorders—with their top therapeutic objectives being relief of pain, mood/behavioral issues, insomnia and motor symptoms.

Patients’ symptoms were recorded by treating physicians and then coded by researchers on a four-point scale (0 = absent, 1 = mild, 2 = moderate, and 3 = severe), “classified according to its documented impact on patients’ autonomy, basic and instrumental activities of daily living, and participation in meaningful daily activities,” the paper said.

“Symptom severity decreased significantly across the three main symptom domains, with improvement in approximately 90% of patients.”

Symptom improvement was defined as a reduction of at least one point in severity relative to baseline, and 91 percent of participants met that threshold, the study, which has not yet been published in a journal and has been made available as a preprint, found.

“The first documented improvement occurred at visit 2 in 67.7% of patients with pain, 65.4% of those with insomnia, and 73.9% of those with mood or behavioral symptoms, with median times to first improvement of three, two, and one month, respectively,” the researchers wrote.

“Symptom evolution between baseline and the last available follow-up visit demonstrated a consistent reduction in symptom severity across the three most prevalent clinical domains. Median severity scores for pain, insomnia, and mood or behavioral symptoms decreased significantly from baseline to the last available assessment, and no patient showed worsening of symptom severity.”

Analyses also showed that there were “strong effect sizes” for descriptive improvements in digestive and motor symptoms, appetite, well-being and physical strength—though those were not statistically significant.

There was a “significant progressive decline in symptom severity over successive follow-up visits for pain, insomnia, and mood or behavioral symptoms.”

While total resolution of symptoms was uncommon, a small numbers of patients with pain, insomnia and mood/behavioral issues did report complete relief.

Notably, the researchers said that the clinically effective doses of cannabis, which was most commonly administered in oral oil-based formulations, was “low”—typically using just a few milligrams per day of THC, CBD and/or CBG.

The study, which received funding from the European Union, also measured patients’ ongoing use of other medications after starting cannabis, finding that while the “overall medication burden remained stable,” there were dose reductions or discontinuations of concomitant medications in a quarter of the patients.

Overall, there was a “favorable longitudinal evolution of the three most prevalent symptom domains—pain, insomnia, and mood or behavioral symptoms—during routine treatment with supervised medical cannabis,” the paper said.

“Symptom intensity decreased from predominantly moderate to mild levels, and most patients experienced at least a one-point reduction in the severity of their principal symptom during follow-up. Longitudinal analyses further showed progressive improvement across successive follow-up visits, suggesting that these changes reflected a sustained clinical trajectory rather than an isolated difference between baseline and the final assessment.”

“In this retrospective real-world study, older adults receiving supervised medical cannabis experienced favorable symptom evolution during follow-up, while treatment showed a clinically acceptable safety profile and was characterized by consistently low documented clinically effective doses,” the researchers concluded.

The findings, they said, “add to the growing evidence that cannabis may represent a therapeutic option for selected older adults under specialist supervision.”

The researchers cautioned that the observational nature of the study means that causality cannot be inferred, though they do plan to follow up with larger cohorts of patients in Colombia, Argentina and Chile, which they said will “improve statistical power, increase the diversity of clinical practice settings, and allow more robust evaluation of treatment patterns, effectiveness, and safety across different healthcare contexts.”

A separate recent federally funded study published by the American Medical Association (AMA) found that “older adults are increasingly turning to cannabis for symptom management”—with many motivated to try marijuana “as an alternative to traditional pharmaceuticals due to concerns about adverse effects.”

“As cannabis legalization becomes more widespread, older adults are increasingly turning to it not just for recreational use, but to manage symptoms associated with aging, including pain, sleep disturbances, and mental health concerns,” that research found.

AMA separately adopted a resolution this year that recognizes both the risks and potential therapeutic benefits of marijuana use among older adults.

Photo courtesy of Max Pixel.

Source link

A first-of-its-kind study conducted by researchers from the Alzheimer’s Association and multiple universities across the USA has demonstrated that cannabis has the ability to reduce agitation in patients living with late-stage dementia.

The multicenter, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, named Life’s End Benefits of cannaBidiol and tetrahYdrocannabinol, or LiBBY for short, was published on the Alzheimer’s Association website and was first announced at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference.

The study found that cannabis oil made from a combination of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) can swiftly and significantly reduce agitation in dementia patients better than a placebo after two weeks of treatment, and sustain the reduction for the duration of the 12-week study.

Agitation experienced by dementia patients often manifests as distressing vocal outbursts, pacing, hostility, and physical aggression. It is thought to affect roughly 50% of dementia patients and is the main reason that families give for having to move their loved ones into residential care accommodation.

Historically, agitation has been treated with heavy sedatives and antipsychotics, drugs that can often have a negative effect on patients by increasing confusion, lowering quality of life, and raising the risk of early death.

Researchers administered a novel 50:1 CBD to THC cannabis oil, with a total daily dose of 8mg THC and 400mg CBD to 120 late-stage dementia patients. The cohort was made up of 55% females and had a mean age of 80.5, and all were eligible for care within a hospice.

During the study, patients were administered the cannabis treatment daily for 12 weeks. Researchers assessed patients on agitation and change of condition at the beginning of the study as well as at the 2- and 12-week marks.

Patients’ agitation was graded using the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory (CMAI) at each stage of the study, and change in condition was also measured using the Clinical Global Impression of Change in Behavior (CGIC-B).

The results showed a ‘statistically significant’ improvement in CMAI scores at the 2- and 12-week points, and also in CGIC-B scores at the 12-week point, when compared to placebo.

“This trial shows that high-quality clinical research can and should be conducted in people with advanced dementia, including those receiving hospice-eligible care,” said lead investigator Jacobo Mintzer, M.D. “That is essential for achieving equitable and meaningful progress in Alzheimer’s treatment.”

“This is a robustly positive, randomized, controlled trial that represents a major step forward in treatment for a population that has been historically overlooked in clinical research,” Mintzer added.

“We now have evidence supporting a new and very effective treatment approach for agitation that may be appropriate for people in the final stages of dementia at the end of life, offering them grace and peace in what is often an extremely difficult time for patients and their families.”

Alzheimer’s and other dementia-based illnesses are thought to affect 55 million people globally. Agitation affects about half of people living with dementia near the end of life, and more than one-third continue to experience symptoms despite off-label treatment with benzodiazepines, opioids and antipsychotics – therapies that can be difficult to manage and carry significant risks. The LiBBY trial is among the first randomised controlled trials in a hospice-eligible population, demonstrating that people living with late-stage dementia can take part in and provide valuable clinical data in medical studies.

Source link

Vaporizing marijuana releases far fewer harmful chemicals than smoking joints does, according to a new study.

“These results demonstrate that combustion—not cannabis itself—is the primary driver of harmful inhalation byproducts, and that controlled vaporization can significantly reduce exposure to these compounds,” the study conducted and self-published by the vape device company PAX found.

Lighting marijuana on fire through smoking releases a number of harmful or potentially harmful compounds (HPHCs)—including benzene, formaldehyde and acetaldehyde. Vaporization, in contrast, heats cannabis to below the point of combustion while still releasing cannabinoids and terpenes.

The research—conducted by Richard Rucker, who serves as PAX’s director of product integrity, and Derek Shiokari, a senior chemist and data scientist at the company—compared aerosol generated by PAX’s dry herb vaporization device (FLOW) and its oil vaporization device (TRIP) with smoke from combusted marijuana joints.

The team compared levels of 16 HPHCs between the methods of consumption, all using the same batch of ground Lemon Cake Batter cannabis from Humboldt Farms.

“Across all measured analytes, vaporization reduced harmful byproducts by up to 99% compared to joint smoke,” they concluded.

Via PAX.

“Combustion produces harmful byproducts—whether it’s tobacco, wood or cannabis,” Rucker said in a press release. “By heating cannabis without burning it, vaporization significantly reduces the formation of these toxic compounds. It’s the same plant, but completely different exposure. This research helps quantify the difference, giving consumers clearer information about how their choices impact exposure.”

When cannabis is lit on fire via smoking, its components like cannabinoids, terpenes, lipids, proteins and carbohydrates experience thermal degradation and oxidation. That leads to the formation of particulate matter and generates additional compounds such as volatile organic compounds, aromatic hydrocarbons and nitrogen-containing compounds, among others, the study said.

“Combustion of cannabis plant material produces a complex aerosol containing numerous harmful byproducts generated through pyrolysis and oxidation. Under matched puffing conditions, vaporization of cannabis flower reduced exposure to these harmful compounds by up to 99% compared with joint smoke. These findings demonstrate that combustion is the primary source of toxic chemical exposure during cannabis smoking, and that vaporization technologies can substantially reduce formation of these byproducts.”

“Across the sixteen quantified HPHCs, vapor aerosol contained up to 99% lower concentrations compared with joint smoke,” the paper concluded. “These results demonstrate dramatic reductions in key combustion markers including aromatic hydrocarbons and aldehydes.”

Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.

Source link